Steel Tipped Truths
by Arien-SG1
Summary: Sequel to Princess of Darkness Wizard of Travesty. Summary Inside((All new cast of main characters, the lies are still being unwoven, and decoded.))
1. Merreck of Camelot

Summary: Sequel to Princess of Darkness Wizard of Travesty. The son of two brave heroes, one dead, one forgotten, is fighting now to discover the truth of his origins. His parents failed to take their place as rulers of Lothian. Now it is left to him, the last of good knights, and the last of those trained by King Arthur under the Old Code.  
  
Disclaimer: Let me just say, DO NOT read this unless you have seen the new King Arthur movie, and have read about Arien, Owen, and Artimus. Don't know who they are? Read Princess of Darkness Wizard of Travesty.  
  
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Arthur paced around the common room with an eerie sense of foreboding. He had not been in this wing of the castle for some time. Not since that night his friends died and his heart broke.  
  
Forever he is condemned to dream of that night, see the bleeding, and murdering over and over in his minds eye until he dares rip his own from his skull.  
  
He stopped and ran a finger across the now very dusty top of the Round Table. Once it had been a symbol of bravery and courage, his men fought bravely beside him, then they would toast each other here after their victory.  
  
Now it sat, cold, and ignored. He dared not bring more men before its blood stained wood. Each man that had sat before it, drinking and laughing with him, had died.  
  
There was his loyal friend Tristan of course, but since that night he had secluded him self in a monastery, living his years a mute, working as a scribe.  
  
Arthur kicked one of the dried wood chairs in a small fit of rage, undeniably angry he was forced back into this room once more.  
  
Guinevere stood in the doorway, her long hair being tugged on by the small boy she held in her arms. "She is here Arthur......but she does not wish to stay."  
  
Arthur laughed coldly, "Why would she wife? She has betrayed us!" Arthur yelled, picking up another chair and throwing it across the room, watching it smash against a wall and shatter to splinters.  
  
"She deals with her remorse differently then the rest of us!" Guinevere hissed, walking towards him.  
  
Arthur shook his head, "She lives, when he died to protect her.........she has shown no gratitude."  
  
Guinevere lowered her child to the ground and he gladly sat on the cool stones, clapping his hands and cooing.  
  
She grabbed his collar and pulled him down so there faces were level, her eyes burning into them, her anger showing vividly. "You have shown no gratitude! Lancelot gave his life for all of us! Instead of continuing your duty as a protector of the meek you burry your past, just like she has!"  
  
Arthur swallowed hard, not daring to infuriate her any more then he already had.  
  
"You will listen to what she has to say, this is important, or else she would not have risked her life to return." Guinevere snapped rudely as she scooped the child back up into her arms and marched from the room.  
  
Arthur sighed and sat down in one of the wobbly chairs, looking towards the door.  
  
When he saw it, she was wearing a golden gown, her hair was long now, draping over her shoulders. Her eyes were no longer curious, but hard and watchful. She did not smile at him, bow, or seem in any way happy to see him.  
  
"Arien." Arthur said dryly, not really wanting to offend her, but at the same time still angry at her actions.  
  
"Arthur, I have come to ask you a favor." She said quietly.  
  
Arthur stood up immediately and slammed his fist on the table, sending dust everywhere. "I owe you nothing!" he hissed, afraid his wife may be listening.  
  
Arien raised her eyebrows, a look he found him self-missing over the years when all he got from Guinevere were glares. "This is not a favor I ask lightly, nor is it for my benefit." She snapped.  
  
Arthur slumped back into the chair and looked up at her, only modestly curious now.  
  
She walked up to him and sat down at his feet, something that made him think she was not yet accustomed to her fancy wardrobe.  
  
"Two years ago we were part of the greatest tragedy of our time. I know all of you are still confused.........as am I, but there is a new factor now." She said quietly.  
  
Arthur tried to hold it in, not wanting to be involved any longer, but he could not control himself. "What might that be?" he asked.  
  
Arien paused for a moment, like she was searching for words. "I had a child." She said, suddenly looking very shifty.  
  
Arthur raised his eyebrows, "Truly? It is?" he asked quietly, not daring to jinx him self.  
  
Arien nodded slowly, then snapped her fingers.  
  
Into the room waddled a little boy, his dark brown curls tossing all around his face as he smiled at them. He ran into Arien's arms and she placed him in Arthur's lap.  
  
"What is this favor?" Arthur asked suddenly, watching the boy as he poked his shiny armor.  
  
"Where would Lancelot want this child raised? Surrounded by books, told he would be the future Emperor of Rome, oppressing villagers for sport." She paused, "Or by his most trusted friend......a knight that can teach him to be just and noble......"  
  
"You could do those things! Run from Alecto and his prying eyes, raise him in secret!" Arthur said, realizing what she was asking of him.  
  
Arien shook her head, "As we speak I am months from my second child. I dare not raised that of a saint and that of a demon in the same house. Instead I ask you to take him, raise him as your own! When he is ready he will seek the truth!" she said, sounding desperate.  
  
Arthur smiled down at the boy, "He looks just like his father."  
  
Arien nodded, "I will not fight anymore Arthur, and while you think you are destined for the same fate.........you are meant to save this earth........."  
  
"Why do you not fight? You were raised to take lives of men standing in the way of your destiny." Arthur replied, empathizing his last few words very strangely.  
  
"Even the greatest warrior will tire of senseless bloodshed." Arien said, so quiet he could have sworn it was a whisper.  
  
So that was it, while Arthur had forbidden him self to train more knights to fight with him, Arien had forbidden her self from taking another life.  
  
"That was not your fault." Arthur said suddenly, standing up with the boy in his arms.  
  
"I could have made him stay......in the Inn he convinced me to let him go Arthur......I could have turned from him easily enough." She said, smiling at the boy as he giggled.  
  
Arthur shook his head, "But you did not......I will grant you this wish, for Lancelot."  
  
Arien grinned at him, "Thank you Arthur. We will meet again soon." With that she kissed the boy on his forehead then turned from them, leaving the room.  
  
Arthur looked down at the boy, "What is his name?" he asked curiously.  
  
Arien turned to look at him, "Merreck of Camelot." She said fondly.  
  
Arthur nodded and she left their presence. He looked down at the table and grabbed his cape, doing his best to wipe the dist from it.  
  
"Guinevere!" Arthur shouted. She appeared almost instantly, he had not been wrong about her listening, "Let us light these torches......the Knights of the Round Table are reborn this day!"  
  
Guinevere ran out of the room and Arthur looked down at Merreck, "You shall be my right hand young Knight......like your Father before you." 


	2. The Quest Begins

Summary: Sequel to Princess of Darkness Wizard of Travesty. The son of two brave heroes, one dead, one forgotten, is fighting now to discover the truth of his origins. His parents failed to take their place as rulers of Lothian. Now it is left to him, the last of good knights, and the last of those trained by King Arthur under the Old Code.  
  
Disclaimer: Let me just say, DO NOT read this unless you have seen the new King Arthur movie, and have read about Arien, Owen, and Artimus. Don't know who they are? Read Princess of Darkness Wizard of Travesty.  
  
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Merreck stood silently, watching the others berate each other senselessly with their wooden staffs.  
  
He was tall; his dark brown hair was curled loosely even though he tried to keep it short. His eyes were different from his fathers, they were not brown, but a vivid green. He wore no shirt, just his dark hide pants. He was strong; more built then the other Knights in his father's court.  
  
He had no weapon, but a bow he kept strung across his chest and behind his back.  
  
His eyes glittered with intrigue as he watched the older men preparing for battle in the weeks to come. His father had forbidden him from joining them on the battlefield, but he did have other things for him to do out side of Camelot. It made Merreck curious to wonder what was so secret he would not be told of it until necessary.  
  
The sun shone brightly, the air humid, and heat threatened to overcome them. He was sweating, but no more then the others, so he stayed, beside his father, watching the others.  
  
"Tonight you will leave here, guided by the stars, you will ride as fast as you can." Arthur said suddenly, not taking his eyes off the trainees.  
  
Merreck raised his eyebrows, "Why are you so persistent I leave before this battle? The Romans have never won before, this time they choose a fool like Alecto to lead them? He is nothing but the nephew of the Emperor......I can help you." He pleaded, eager to earn his fathers praise.  
  
Arthur seemed to ignore his pleas, instead he continued, "You will take Claire with you to Anglesey Island, I have friends there and they will care for you." He said quietly, an odd expression on his face now.  
  
Merreck scowled, "Anglesey Island is the resting place of Alecto's castle, how daft a man would send his children into the heart of oppression and doom?" he asked seriously, considering the heat may be effecting his fathers judgment.  
  
"Only a fool questions his father, no matter how daft he may seem at times." Arthur snapped.  
  
"I am to travel, unprotected with my little sister Claire, into the stronghold of the Anti Christ him self......I do say father, some think you may be loosing your touch. Honestly I think it's just the strain of that heavy crown. I would love to relieve you of it, if only for a few hours." Merreck said slowly.  
  
Arthur laughed, "Yes, then I really would be daft now wouldn't I?" he asked cheerfully. He put his arm around Merreck's shoulders, "Come, I have something to give you."  
  
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Arthur led him into the garden, where Guinevere was waiting for them, with something awkward looking, covered in a gray cloth, in her arms.  
  
As they approached Arthur said something about destiny, but Merreck's was to distracted by the objects his mother had just revealed to him.  
  
The cloth fell to the ground as Merreck pulled two heavy swords from sheets in Guinevere's arms and twirled them in his hands.  
  
The two he held had a perfectly balanced body, the handles a sterling silver with red filled engravings, rubies imbedded in the base of the blade. They matched perfectly, obvious more expensive then anything else he had ever seen in the castle before.  
  
He handed them to his father, who looked at them fondly and touched the blade of one like it might have been the Holy Grail.  
  
The last two were just as perfect, there blades being carved with a language he did not recognize, Arthur told him it was Lothian, why was a question he would save for another time. The handles of these swords were just as intricate, green jewels mostly embedded in it.  
  
"What have I done to deserve these?" he asked weakly, slipping the sheaths on his back and tightening the strap over his left shoulder and under his left arm.  
  
Arthur placed the blades back into their places and looked at them, suddenly overcome with emotions he had not felt for some time.  
  
Guinevere comforted him, but Merreck suspected something was amiss.  
  
"Whom did these belong to before me?" he asked slowly, watching them with slanted eyes.  
  
Arthur shook his head, "The past is of no concern to you as of yet, but when they question your integrity, hold them proudly. They have protected many heroes before you Merreck of Camelot."  
  
Merreck nodded, feeling uneasy by his father's unusual words of wisdom and depth.  
  
------  
  
He mounted his horse quickly, his sleeveless chain mail rattling quietly as he looked down at his mother.  
  
She handed him something, closing his fingers over it she kissed them and smiled up at him, "Remember, no matter what happens, we are here for you always." She said quietly.  
  
Merreck nodded, opening his hand he looked confused, "These will not fit me." He said, somewhat surprised she had not known that. He held three large silver rings now, not sure what to do with them.  
  
Guinevere took his left arm and slid them one by one onto this lower arm, each resting a centimeter below the first, which was just below the elbow. He flexed his arm, moving it slowly, testing to see if the rings would bother him.  
  
"Perfect." Guinevere said quietly, looking at him proudly.  
  
He smiled at her, just as Claire rode up beside him, "Do I not get a parting gift?" she asked innocently, but Merreck knew she was just being greedy. Arthur came up from behind them and presented her with two very beautiful looking Sai's, their handles were made completely of some sort of rich blue stone.  
  
He briefly wondered if anyone fought with practical weapons, like a bow ripped right from a tree trunk. The thought left him suddenly as Claire accidentally stabbed him in the arm with one.  
  
He watched, frowning slightly, as a small bit of blood ran down his right arm, getting caught in his matching dark red cloak. He pulled up his hood and tightened the ties keeping it close to his body, "How long must we hide?" he asked his father bitterly.  
  
"You will return when you are ready." Arthur replied darkly.  
  
Merreck nodded, then attempted to get off his horse, "Alright!" he snapped angrily in reply to his father shoving his back up. He readjusted him self in the saddle and looked at Claire, she smiled, "Just " He said slowly.  
  
Claire looked surprised "Why? How far are we going? Will it take long? I do not like to ride hours on end!" she said quickly.  
  
"Terrific." Merreck said bitterly, urging his horse forward, into the woods. 


End file.
